The longing for peace drives many people to leave everything behind. What thoughts and emotions shape a young man who suddenly finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time – and, from one moment to the next, becomes the target of a dictatorship?
Samer Al Najjar's novel offers an intimate look into the emotional world of a young Syrian whose life is transformed by dictatorship, revolution, war and displacement. The novel was first published in Arabic in 2020 as And the Dice Is Still Rolling. Al Najjar later translated and adapted his own work into German, where it was published in 2023 under the title Labyrinth der verwaisten Wünsche. The novel will shortly become available to English-language readers as The Weight of Desires, translated from German by Gordon Couper. In this interview with the publisher, the author speaks about his motivation for writing the novel, Adam's inner world and the questions he hopes readers will continue to think about after finishing the book.
In your novel, you address highly topical questions surrounding the crisis in Syria. What perspective does Adam, the protagonist of your story, bring to these events?
My novel is about a young man who was born in Damascus. He grows up in his uncle's household, where he is constantly subjected to emotional abuse and harassment. After telling the story of the protagonist's childhood, I show how he changes with the outbreak of the Syrian Revolution in 2011. He becomes involved in the struggle for democracy and civil liberties and takes part in peaceful protests.
The dream of a free Syria drives the young Adam forward. How would you define this dream for yourself?
Every day I dream of a free, democratic Syria that is loved by its own people as they love themselves. A tyrannical and unjust Syria can never be my homeland. On the contrary, I deeply hate the situation as it is today.
You yourself left Syria and came to Germany in 2014. How do you remember your childhood and youth in Syria?
I experienced a typical childhood in Syria. We were terrorised at school. There were constant attempts to turn children into soldiers. We thought this was normal because we knew nothing else.
Your novel also explores post-traumatic stress as a consequence of experiences of war.
Yes, exactly. My novel focuses on the development of the protagonist: how the experiences of loss and violence during his childhood affect him as a young adult, and how the violence of a dictatorship and the dangers of war and flight affect his mental health, which he intuitively tries to preserve. My aim is to shed light on this dark side of the lives of war survivors and refugees, which is so often pushed into the background. Post-traumatic stress disorder is widespread among them, something I have observed myself on several occasions. Yet it is very rarely discussed, and refugees themselves often avoid talking about their PTSD symptoms.
What kind of response would you like the novel to provoke in readers?
Criticism and reflection. In my text, I wanted to address some of the harshest realities of humanity. My intention was to write a book that would encourage more discussion and more conversation between people.
Adam eventually reaches Vienna, where the dream of a free Syria suddenly seems tangible again. What brings about this change?
Adam cannot let go of this dream because his life before the revolution felt meaningless. Without his dream, he cannot find meaning in his own life. Can love do it instead? That is the question.
The interview was conducted by C. Leeck.
Wuppertal, February 2023.
The book "The Weight of Desires" is available from booksellers and directly from our publishing house, both as a printed edition (ISBN 978-3-910347-95-3) and as an EPUB e-book (ISBN 978-3-910347-96-0).
